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A Religious Discrimination Act should not be used to undermine or override state based anti-discrimination laws, the Australian Greens say, following the release of the government’s response to the Ruddock Review.

Greens Justice spokesperson Senator Nick McKim said: “Religious freedom cannot be viewed in isolation, nor should it be used as a political weapon in an act of vengeance for the marriage equality vote.”

Senator WRIGHT (South Australia) (13:08): I want to express the great disappointment of the Australian Greens on the vote that just took place, when the government and the opposition and a significant number of the crossbenchers voted not to refer the citizenship bill, also known as the Allegiance to Australia bill, to the full scrutiny of the Legal and Constitutional Affairs Legislation Committee of the Senate.

The Australian Greens say the Abbott Government's citizenship laws outlined today are a cynical attempt to bypass the courts yet again, but will not make Australians any safer.

Spokesperson for Legal Affairs Senator Penny Wright said the Prime Minister had made it clear the power to determine who would lose citizenship still rested with the Immigration Minister, who would decide which terrorist organisations are proscribed under the Citizenship Act.

Senator WRIGHT (South Australia) (11:39): The Australian Greens do not support the enactment of the Law Enforcement Legislation Amendment (Powers) Bill 2015 as currently drafted. The bill seeks to amend the Australian Crime Commission Act 2002 and the Law Enforcement Integrity Commissioner Act 2006 to enhance the powers of Australian Crime Commission examiners to conduct examinations, and the Law Enforcement Integrity Commissioner, supported by the Australian Commission for Law Enforcement Integrity, to conduct hearings.

The Australian Greens will move to strike down the Abbott Government's court fee increases, which legal centres have said will delay victims of domestic violence from seeking a divorce.

Australian Greens spokesperson for Legal Affairs Senator Penny Wright, who will introduce the disallowance motion next week, said increasing the cost of divorce applications from $845 to $1195 was excessive.

"It is completely inappropriate to use family breakdown as a cash cow for the government," Senator Wright said.